Easiest way to travel to France! (SeaFrance Ferries)

Member Name: Stephoohla

Product:	SeaFrance Ferries
Date:	14/08/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, the ferry was really nice inside, beautiful scenery

Disadvantages: Expensive food and gift shop

I've been on Sea France ferries a few times now, and, lucky for me, its service is always consistent.

Last weekend, me and my partner decided to go on an impulsive day trip to France, so late Saturday night, we booked returned ferry tickets to Calais from Dover.

Booking the tickets was, in itself, a little bit of a nightmare if you take into account how many different companies are trying to sell you tickets for the same ferry, some more expensive than others, and often you have to fill out a form and then it'll tell you how much, so it can be time consuming if you're wanting to shop around.

After looking at a few different sites, we found one (I can't remember what it was) that had foot passenger tickets as £6 each, which was cheaper even than the Sea France website.

The next morning, we had a two hour drive from our town to Dover, but once we arrived in Dover all our tiredness was completely forgotten, as we remembered and saw the beautiful white cliffs of Dover, and the massive ferries we were about to get onto.

We arrived at check-in only to be told we literally just got there in time as they were boarding the bus right then to take passengers to the ferry. We raced outside to the Sea France bus, they checked out tickets and we got on. This took a matter of 3 minutes, so there wasn't any waiting around.

The bus then drove up the port, so we were nearer, then dropped us off near the ferry we could get on. One thing I should mention here is that there are either a lot of stairs, or a lot of ramps = lots of walking. There were lifts but it said they were for disabled folk, so be prepared for all this walking if you come to Dover (and Calais too!).

Once on board the ferry, we waited up on until we left. As usual, the ferry left dead on time, meaning none of our precious time in France would have be taken from us (just make sure you don't turn up late like we almost did!). The operation was quick tight in making sure everyone got on and off and everyone was on time, which is a good thing.

On board, we decided to check out the food. This is one bad thing - it is expensive. And the prices were in euros so, if you're not a walking currency converter, you won't know exactly what your paying in £s. I chose a portion of chips for 2 euros (I didn't think that was too extravagant) whilst my boyfriend chose lasagne for 8 euros (ouch!). They don't take debit cards on board, so make sure you have a credit card or are prepared to pay in cash (they take euros or pounds).

The food was good though, so apart from the price, no complaining there.

There is a gift shop on board, but this was also fairly expensive so we didn't spend very much. They sold lots of wine and ciggarettes, but because of the no duty free thing anymore you could easily get them for that price in this country!

We spent most of our journey sitting out on deck watching the sea, which was a beautiful site. There were loads of places to sit inside the ferry too, all of which looked themed, and very beautifully decorated. It was clearly well taken care of, and cleaned lots.

When we arrived in Calais, it took a while for them to get us off the ferry, but once we stepped off, that was that. Simply. A bus took us to the arrivals bit so we could get out the port and into Calais, and it was all very easy and simple.

Perfect day!

Summary: I'll definitely be using this ferry company again